


Things I Don't Understand

by sartiebodyshots



Category: Falling Skies
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Loss, M/M, Post Series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-04
Updated: 2015-09-04
Packaged: 2018-04-18 23:16:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,078
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4723931
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sartiebodyshots/pseuds/sartiebodyshots
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cochise receives high honors for his people, but he's not completely happy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Things I Don't Understand

The Volm have their ceremonies where the Jefferson Memorial used to be.  It’s a gorgeous location located at the tip of the larger Volm consulate. 

Tom watches proudly as the Volm places a shimmery sash around Cochise’s shoulders.  He’s not entirely sure what the Volm is saying- the whole ceremony has been in the Volm Standardized Tongue- but Cochise had told him beforehand that he was receiving an honor they created specifically for him, as well as a largely ceremonial promotion to general.

When the gathered Volm clasp their hands over their chests and bow their heads in Cochise’s direction, Tom quickly follows suit.  He’s not the only human in attendance- their kids, President Peralta, and a couple members of the 2nd Mass also came- but as Cochise’s mate, he’s the only human up on the dais where everyone can see him.  It’s kind of strange.

Cochise steps forward and begins to speak in Volm.  He gestures towards Tom a few times and mentions his name; Tom nods awkwardly when he does so.

All three of his kids throw him little smirks. 

Tom had offered to listen to Cochise’s speech beforehand because he had seemed nervous about making it, but Cochise had refused his help.  He seems very confident as he speaks, even if Tom senses a little tension from the Volm in a few parts of Cochise’s speech.

When the ceremony is done, Cochise comes and wraps an arm around Tom.

“Good job,” Tom murmurs in his ear.  “I’m so proud of you.”

“Thank you, Tom,” Cochise says, and Tom can hear some kind of tenseness in his voice.  “I must speak to a few Volm, but I will attempt to be quick.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Tom says.  “I don’t mind being your trophy human.”

Lord knows that Cochise has spent enough time on Tom’s arm while he talks to some diplomat or another.  It’s good to switch things up a little.

“You are better than any trophy,” Cochise assures him. 

Tom smiles up at him.

Soon enough, there are plenty of Volm vying for Cochise’s attention.  Cochise makes sure that he gets introduced to each one, but they quickly switch to the Volm Standardized Tongue, so Tom doesn’t have to pay attention to the conversation, just smile at the Volm (and smile up at Cochise adoringly, too.  He likes that.).

He scans the room, smiling as he sees Hal pressed against Shaq’s side, trying to work his charms on whoever else they’re talking to.  Ben seems to have attached himself to the Volm ambassador, which Tom has noticed has started happening with increasing frequency since he arrived on Earth.  Meanwhile, Matt’s trying to climb a statue of some presumably deceased Volm general.  Tom keeps an eye on him.

Tom also pays attention to Cochise’s body language.  His grip on Tom’s arm is almost painfully tight and his body is tense.  Even though Cochise is mostly speaking in Volm, Tom can tell that he’s upset about something. 

Unfortunately, there’s no way for Tom to ask him what’s wrong, not with all the other people milling around.  All he can do is rub Cochise’s back soothingly and smile charmingly at all the Volm he’s introduced to.   

“I believe we have talked to everyone we must, except for the Volm ambassador and Shak-Chic,” Cochise murmurs in his ear some time later.

“I’m sure Shaq will understand if you don’t talk to him,” Tom replies.  He nods towards where Ben and the Volm ambassador are still talking.  “And I think Mr. Ambassador is fine, too.  They’ll both be over for dinner sometime soon, I’m sure, and you can thank them for coming them.”

Cochise inclines his head.  “Then we may depart.”

They swing by Matt to get him off the statues and direct him towards his brothers before walking towards the bridge to the main part of DC.  It's kind of a far walk to their house from here, but Tom knows he could use the exercise.  Even if Cochise keeps telling him that he still looks attractive even though he’s started to soften up now that they're no longer starving and running for their lives all the time. 

Tom slips his hand into Cochise's, letting the comfortable silence grow between them. It's been nice having quiet moments like this.  While their lives are still full of uncertainty and they're all haunted by the after effects of war, they can walk across a bridge together and enjoy the water, no guns in hand and without fear.  It’s nice and normal and not something Tom had been sure he would have again- and he knows Cochise had never expected it. 

When the sun starts to set, he squeezes Cochise’s hand gently.  “Do you want to tell me what’s wrong?”

“I have been promoted to General and awarded the highest honor a Volm can receive- an honor so great that I am the sole recipient.  They created it to honor me,” Cochise says softly.  “There is nothing wrong.”

“C’mon,” Tom says, nudging him a little as they walk.  “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to, but there is something wrong.  I know you, Cochise.  I can tell when you’re upset even if you’re speaking in Volm.”

“You have learned much,” Cochise says.

“I love you,” Tom says by way of explanation.

Cochise is quiet for a while and Tom rubs his thumb against the back of his hand, giving him time to think. 

“I have never been a model Volm.  While proficient in fighting, as all Volm are, I never fit right with my Volm comrades.  My interests in poetry and literature were a grave disappointment to my father,” Cochise says, looking at the road ahead.  “That I was born defective was also a disappointment.”

“You weren’t born def-!”

“Tom, please,” Cochise says.  “I am speaking from my father’s point of view.”

“Sorry,” Tom says.  It just bothers him whenever Cochise calls himself defective.  “I won’t interrupt.”

“When I disobeyed him in order to remain on Earth, it was perhaps the greatest offence I had committed, at least until I asked him to upset the natural order of life,” Cochise says.  “Now, I am being celebrated for that offence because it led to the destruction of the Espheni and the liberation of our homeworld, and he will never know how honored his offspring has become.  In addition, taking you as a mate was also seen as a source of grave shame for my father.  However, as you are the human who freed our homeworld, it is no longer seen as a disgrace, but as an intelligent choice meant to ensure the loyalty of someone of value.  I assure you that that is not why I took you as my mate.”

“I know,” Tom assures him, vaguely amused that apparently there are Volm out there who think Cochise decided to be with him out of some longshot military strategy.  “So you wish that your dad could have been here today so he’d be proud of you?”

“Yes,” Cochise says.  “He has never been pleased to have me as his offspring, but I have finally given him reason to be proud.  That he died in order to continue my life only increases my sorrow.  He should be alive, not me.”

“I’m sorry, Cochise.  But if it helps…” Tom tries to figure out how to phrase what he wants to say.  Sometimes Cochise’s culture trips him up, so he really hopes that he’s not about to say something wildly insulting.  “It’s really important to the Volm that they die fighting the Espheni, right?  Or, at least it was?”

“That is accurate,” Cochise says. 

“And you were upset when your dad died because you thought you robbed him of that chance, because you didn’t think saving your life was enough to warrant the sacrifice.”  Tom ardently disagrees, of course, but he knows how Cochise thinks.

“Yes,” Cochise says, and Tom can hear the pain and guilt in that one syllable, so he hurries onto his main point.

“But now, with the end result, you can’t consider his sacrifice pointless anymore!” Tom says.  “I couldn’t have killed the queen and the rest of the Espheni without you.  I couldn’t have dealt with Pope taking Hal, except I knew you were still here to watch out for Ben and Matt.  I couldn’t have gone on to face the queen after the explosion, except you were on the other side with our kids and I knew that if I died they’d still have you.  Your dad died furthering your cause against the Espheni, Cochise, even if he didn’t die in battle.  You were able to do something that he wouldn’t have been able to.  And you were only able to do it because of his sacrifice.”

For a long time, the only sound is the crunching of the gravel underneath their feet and Tom’s rapidly increasing heartbeat.  He’s nervous that what he said was wrong or out of line.

“I’m sorry,” Tom eventually says, looking up at Cochise’s distraught face.  “I know I don’t always get Volm culture.  I shouldn’t’ve said anything.”

Cochise stops and scoops Tom up in his arms without warning, holding him tightly.

“You do not understand our ways sometimes,” Cochise says, voice reverberating through Tom’s whole body.  “In this case, you are correct.  My father was pivotal to the Espheni’s removal from our homeworld.  It could not have been done without his sacrifice.  This is a great comfort to me.”

Tom sighs happily, relieved that he’s helped Cochise deal with this loss, at least a little. 

“I must also inform you that I appreciate your attempt to comfort me with my own culture,” Cochise says.  “Especially when it contains elements that I know you find disagreeable.”

“You’re Volm,” Tom says.  “Even if you haven’t always been the Volmiest Volm, I know you’re still Volm, and I would never ignore that.” 

“Your understanding is one of many things I love about you,” Cochise says as he carefully places Tom back on his feet and retakes his hand. 

“I love you, too,” Tom says, squeezing his hand tightly. 

“I have something else I wish to discuss with you as well,” Cochise says as they start to walk again.  “Another somber topic, unfortunately.”

“Talk to me,” Tom says.

“There is a large part of me that also wishes that my brother was able to witness this moment.  To see the honored Volm I have become,” Cochise says, voice shaking.  “It is different from my desire to have my father here.  Before I came to Earth, my brother was the only person who I truly felt close to.  He was already proud of me, but I still wish that he could be here to share in my happiness.  I do not understand it.”

“I understand,” Tom says.  “I wish Rebecca could have seen us take back the planet, to know that she knows that we’re safe now.  I wish she could have seen the incredible people our kids have become.”

“How do you deal with this?” Cochise asks.

“You just… have to let yourself feel your emotions, as corny as it sounds.  It’s okay to miss the people we’ve lost.  We’re all gonna be sad and upset sometimes,” Tom says.  “But we’ve also gotta remember how much we still have.  It’s a balancing act.”

“Should I ever fall out of balance, please inform me.  It is difficult for me to tell,” Cochise says. 

“I will,” Tom says.  “We can both watch out for each other.”

“I am glad that we have each other,” Cochise says.  “Thank you for coming to the Volm ceremony today.”

“I wouldn’t’ve missed it for anything,” Tom says.  “I’m so proud of you, and I’m so glad that you’re getting the recognition from your people that you deserve.  You’ve done so much.”

“While your frail, emotional species is, in many ways, the antithesis of what the Volm have become, I could not have become such an honored Volm without you and your species,” Cochise says.

Tom kisses the back of Cochise’s hand, at this point taking ‘frail and emotional’ for the compliment that it is from him.  “Glad we could help.  Worked out well for all of us.”

It’s a nice night for a walk back home hand in hand with the Volm he loves, and they walk the rest of the way home in an easy, loving silence.


End file.
